President Donald Trump announced Friday morning that the National Guard troops have arrived on the scene in Minneapolis, Minnesota to help local officials control the riots taking place in the city.
Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz originally activated the National Guard on Thursday evening after protests over the death of George Floyd while in police custody evolved into riots.
“The National Guard has arrived on the scene,” the president tweeted. “They are in Minneapolis and fully prepared. George Floyd will not have died in vain. Respect his memory!!!”
The National Guard has arrived on the scene. They are in Minneapolis and fully prepared. George Floyd will not have died in vain. Respect his memory!!!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 29, 2020
Trump received a briefing from Attorney General William Barr and other Justice Department officials on Floyd’s death Thursday at the White House.
He later tweeted harsh criticism for the riots which have overtaken the peaceful protests in Minneapolis. (RELATED: Twitter Censors Trump For ‘Glorifying Violence’ In Tweet Vowing To Send Military On ‘Thugs’)
“I can’t stand back & watch this happen to a great American City, Minneapolis,” he wrote early Friday morning. “A total lack of leadership. Either the very weak Radical Left Mayor, Jacob Frey, get his act together and bring the City under control, or I will send in the National Guard & get the job done right.”
Twitter later marked a followup tweet from the president as “glorifying violence” and blocked other accounts from interacting with it.
“These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen,” the tweet in question reads. “Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts.”
….These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 29, 2020
The official White House Twitter account was also dinged for reposting Trump’s message.
Trump has escalated his feud with Twitter, his preferred social media platform, in recent days. On Thursday, he signed an executive order calling for a wide-ranging overhaul of laws pertaining to social media liability and censorship.
He told reporters at the signing ceremony that he would delete his account “in a minute” if not for the “fake news.”